Portugal

[PT] Only Sports Qualify as Important Events

IRIS 2007-1:1/28

Helena Sousa

Communication and Society Research Centre, University of Minho

On 30 October 2006, the minister responsible for the media sector , Augusto Ernesto Santos Silva, signed an official communication in the Diário da República (Official Journal), containing the list of events which must be broadcast by national terrestrial open access television channels. According to the Television Act (Act 32/2003 of 22 August 2003, Article 28), the Government should publish annually a list of important events that cannot be exclusively broadcast by non-national restricted access channels.

The official communication (despacho nº22025/2006 ) comprises only sports events, particularly football. Amongst its eleven items, seven concern professional football and four relate to other popular first league sports such as cycling, athletics, hockey, handball and basketball.

Before the publication of the annual list of important events, the Government is legally obliged to hear the Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicação Social (Media Regulatory Entity ) on the matter.



References

  • Despacho publicado no “Diário da República”, 2.ª Série, n.º 209, de 30 de Outubro de 2006, página 23 760
  • http://www.ics.pt/verfs.php?fscod=973&lang=pt
  • Official communication of the list of important events in the Official Journal, 2.ª Serie, n.º 209, of 30 October 2006, page 23 760

  • Lei n.º 32/2003 de 22 de Agosto, Lei da Televisão e segunda alteração do Decreto-Lei n.º 241/97, de 18 de Setembro, alterado pela Lei n.º 192/2000, de 18 de Agosto, e nona alteração do Código da Publicidade, aprovado pelo Decreto-Lei n.º 330/90, de 23 de Outubro, e alterado pelos Decretos-Leis n.os 74/93, de 10 de Março, 6/95, de 17 de Janeiro, e 61/97, de 25 de Março, pela Lei n.º 31-A/98, de 14 de Julho, e pelos Decretos-Leis n.os 275/98, de 9 de Setembro, 51/2001, de 15 de Fevreiro, 332/2001, de 24 de Dezembro, e 81/2002, de 4 de Abril
  • http://www.ics.pt/verfs.php?fscod=619&lang=pt
  • Television Act n.º 32/2003 of 22 August and Decree-Law n.º 241/97 of 18 September as amended

This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.